Ex-Royals Maxwell, Aoki to join Giants’ White House celebration

Updated 11:36 pm, Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Had the ninth inning in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series gone differently, Nori Aokiand Justin Maxwell might have gone to the White House for a ceremony honoring the World Series champion Kansas City Royals.

Instead, Maxwell and Aoki will go the White House on Thursday and join the rest of the Giants, in what has become a biennial ceremony, to fete the team that just beat the Royals for the right to hang with President Obama.

Awkward?

“Definitely,” Maxwell said. “At first, I wondered if Nori and I should even go, but all the guys said, ‘No, you’ve got to come. It’s an experience you want to have.’”

Maxwell does not want to be Jeff Francoeur or Kensuke Tanaka, however. The team photo from the 2013 White House visit shows those two standing front and center near Obama even though neither played for the 2012 title team. Tanaka had not yet played a game for the Giants, having earned his first promotion from the minors the day before.

“I probably won’t be in any photos,” Maxwell said. “I’ll stand in the back. I’d rather not be in any of the photos because I wasn’t on the team or the roster. I’ll just go and hang out, maybe behind the cameras, and take some pictures of my own.”

Maxwell has been to the White House. His father was the presidential dentist for Obama’s predecessors, Bill Clintonand George W. Bush. Maxwell met the former, not the latter, and said meeting Obama will be cool.

Beede promoted: Triple-A starters Kevin Correiaand Robert Coellohave opted out of their contracts with Sacramento, igniting a chain of promotions for other starters in they system.

The most significant was Tyler Beede, the Giants’ first-round draft pick last year, advancing from Class A San Jose to Double-A Richmond, Va. Beede might be the pitching prospect with the highest upside in the organization. He had a 2.24 ERA in nine starts at San Jose, including an 11-strikeout game Saturday.

Chris Stratton, the Giants’ top pick in 2012, is advancing to Triple-A.